Rural King nearly complete
SPRING HILL – The contractor handling the Rural King relocation to Spring Hill is getting final inspections cleared through the county this week.
Once that is done, all that is needed is the certificate of occupancy to move forward with an opening.
RLF Construction & Development, based in Punta Gorda, is involved in the renovation of the national farm and home store.
Interior inspections had been scheduled Tuesday to see if the renovations to the long-vacant Kmart building met with inspectors’ approval.
Some of the exterior work, including parking lot repaving, had already started. There is also a Rural King sign on the building and in the frontage area.
Rural King bought the property at 2450 U.S. 19 for $1.6 million. The Hernando County Property Appraiser’s site shows the land was valued at $1.5 million and the building valued at $725,000.
Rural King has 64 stores in seven states, mostly in the Midwest. When the Spring Hill store opens, it will employ 50-80 people.
The chain sells everything from clothes and pet food to car tires, hardware supplies and home furnishings. Rural King will take over the entire 91,500 square feet of store space.
A chain representative had hoped to open the store by Sept. 1.
Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2002 and closed many of its stores – including one in Spring Hill and Brooksville – a year later.
(352) 544-5290
